Journey of Self-Discovery
by NightcoreFairy
Summary: "Well, well, what a pleasant surprise…it looks like there is something being suppressed in you, screaming and howling to get released…" Zeref noted, starting to come closer yet again. "If you're talking about my pent up anger that wants to lash out and murder you, yeah, you're probably right," Gray said and raised his hands, ready to attack. Then, he gasped as Zeref loomed over him
1. Chapter 1

"This is my last chance to fight against Natsu with all he's got. You will be the trigger that will unleash his true power." Zeref stated, a sinister smile stretching on his lips as he glared at Gray, stepping closer to him.

"You wish. When Natsu will arrive, there will be nothing left from you," Gray corrected, eyes carefully studying Zeref's every movement.

His hand was slightly trembling and clenched it tight, not wanting to show any weakness. He didn't fear many things, but having Zeref standing a few meters away as he was closing the gap between them could make anyone react this way.

"It's futile, I'm immortal. No one can kill me," Zeref said, spreading his arms wide open, "but if you somehow managed to kill me, Natsu will…"

He sighed heavily, "I know."

Zeref blinked, "Oh, so you already knew…"

"That Natsu is E.N.D?" Gray continued, "Natsu…is Natsu. I wanted to blame someone for the deaths of my parents and Ur…and that 'someone' was E.N.D, but now knowing that it's Natsu…" he glanced down, gritting his teeth.

"I care more about those who are still alive. I don't care what they are. They are my friends." He glanced up and glared at Zeref.

"You will lose them. Whether you kill me or you—" he halted in his steps, eyes widening.

Zeref slightly tilted his head, eyes now narrowed as he observed Gray with a new interest.

"Well, well, what a pleasant surprise…it looks like there is something being suppressed in you, screaming and howling to get released…" Zeref noted, starting to come closer yet again.

"If you're talking about my pent up anger that wants to lash out and murder you, yeah, you're probably right," Gray said and raised his hands, ready to attack.

Then, he gasped as Zeref disappeared and instantly reappeared right in front of his face, looming over him.

"Fuck—"

He summoned ice in his hands, about to punch him away, yet he wasn't fast enough and cursed as Zeref's hand made contact with his temple, palm flat against it. He squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for an exploding pain to course through him, but nothing happened. He tried to jump away from him but noticed that he couldn't move a single muscle and felt his stomach sink.

"My god, you had this buried deep inside you all this time…but it makes things much more complicated now, doesn't it…" Zeref mused, chuckling, "maybe not, though…if I do kill you knowing this, then my plan will definitely succeed."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" He barked, lower lip trembling as he now stared at Zeref with a new fear ignited in him.

"I could just keep it a secret from you, but where's the fun in that?"

"What do you—"

Before he could say anything further, his world turned black.

* * *

When he opened his eyes again, he was in an unfamiliar place, probably what used to be a forest, but was now covered in white, layers of snow stretching all over around him.

 _"_ _Gray, come out right this instant and stop fooling around!"_

He snapped his head towards the booming voice, whirling around. His eyes widened, mouth dropping open as he looked up at the blue dragon, covered with icy scales, standing tall a few meters away from him.

 _Why did she call out my name? And where the fuck am I?_

He hid behind a large bush, deciding that it was best to silently observe without revealing himself as there was literally a dragon that he had never seen before, calling out to him like they knew each other.

The dragon turned its head to the left, facing away from him as a giggle was heard and he slightly relaxed, knowing that he was safe for the time being.

 _"_ _Oh, so you want to play like that, huh? Okay then, but don't whine afterward because you brought this upon yourself!"_

 _The dragon called out and inhaled deeply, its cheeks puffing. Then, it blew out a huge storm of ice, freezing everything that was in its wake with crystal. After a few minutes, a small boy emerged from the bushes, arms wrapped around himself as he was shaking like a leaf._

 _"_ _That wasn't fair! You used your powers!" The black-haired boy pouted, teeth chattering from the cold._

 _"_ _What did I say about whining, Gray? And it's not like you aren't used to this kind of cold— you are the child of the mighty Ice dragon, so, you have no excuses, young man."_

 _"'_ _Mighty Ice dragon' my ass…" the boy mumbled, averting his eyes._

 _"_ _What did you say, you cheeky brat?"_

He gaped at the scene that was unfolding right in front of his eyes. There was literally a younger version of himself conversing and playing around with a dragon…just what the hell was Zeref doing to him? What were these illusions he was feeding him with?

 _"_ _N-Nothing!"_

 _The dragon smiled down at young Gray and lowered its head, folding its arms._

 _"_ _Come here, you."_

 _Young Gray hesitantly stepped forward and jumped into the dragon's folded arms, snuggling close._

 _"_ _You know that I love you, right? I always had and I'll always will, no matter what." The dragon lowly rumbled, rubbing its face against him. Young Gray huffed but leaned in on the touch._

 _"_ _Why did you get sentimental all of a sudden, Algor?"_

 _"_ _It's nothing, I just wanted to remind my child how much I love him— is that a crime?"_

 _Young Gray blushed and averted his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest, "No, I guess it's not, but it's not like you to be like that."_

 _"_ _Well, then that means that maybe from now on I should say it more often, shouldn't I?"_

 _"_ _Fuck no, it's gross!"_

 _"_ _Hey, watch your mouth!"_

They both started giggling and he placed his hand over his chest, feeling an odd ache deep inside. This whole scene that he was witnessing was fake, an illusion that Zeref had created to mess with his head, so why did it hurt to watch? Why did it feel familiar? The giggles started fading away into the white and another scene slowly formed.

He inhaled sharply, hands clenching into tight fists as young Gray was sobbing loudly, holding onto one of Algor's leg.

 _"_ _What do you mean you have to go? I refuse to let you go! You can't go! You promised me that you would stay with me forever!" young Gray cried out, latching himself onto Algor._

 _"_ _Please, don't leave me! I don't have anyone else in this world but you! Don't leave me…" he choked out, burying his face against Algor's leg._

 _"_ _I'm sorry, my dear Gray, but there is something that I have to do. Believe me, I wanted to stay with you and watch you grow up into a handsome man, but there is something that needs to be done…I know that you don't understand now, but when you grow up, you will understand that I'm doing this for you, for us." Algor explained, looking down at him apologetically._

 _"_ _Don't bullshit me, if you really cared about me, you would stay here no matter what! You would—"_

 _Algor raised her claw, tapping one nail against young Gray's temple gently._

 _"_ _I'm sorry, Gray…"_

 _The boy's eyes slowly closed, small body falling limply to the ground._

Gray gasped, tears prickling his eyes as he watched a light cover young Gray's body, gradually fading away and disappearing, leaving nothing in its wake. He let out a small whimper and immediately smacked his hands over his mouth, keeping completely still as he ducked down. Algor snapped its head towards him, eyes narrowing at the bush that was covering him.

"You were always such a brat…"

His eyes widened as Algor softly mumbled and jerked up from his hiding place, ready to call out to the dragon, only to find emptiness.

"No!" he outstretched his hand forward, but everything around him slowly faded away.

Gray snapped his eyes open, breathing heavily, dried tears on his cheeks.

"W-What…" he breathed, unfocused eyes staring at the ground.

"What you saw was a part of your sealed memories," Zeref disclosed, hand slowly traveling down from Gray's forehead, "at least you won't die without not knowing the truth about you."

He clicked his tongue and jumped away, eyes lifting up to glare into Zeref.

"If you think that I'm going to buy any of your bullshit, you're highly mistaken," the corner of his mouth quirked up into a shaky grin, "I'm sorry, but this is the moment where you'll have to say goodbye to this world, Zeref."

He widened his stance and placed his right arm above the left one, right palm facing down whilst his left palm faced up.

"I-Iced Shell?" Zeref gasped, taking a step back.

"Correct, but not quite. This kind of magic will allow me to turn my life, existence, and memory into magic so nobody else will have to shed any further tears." He explained and spread his arms wide.

"Lost Iced Shell!"

* * *

Gray slowly opened his eyes, gazing at the familiar ceiling. He rubbed his eyes and slowly sat up on his bed, bringing his knees close to his body.

One month had passed since the war with Alvarez had ended, since they had defeated Zeref and obtained peace, but he was a mess. This past month had been pure hell to him, as almost every night his dreams were haunted by new memories of his unknown past with the dragon named Algor.

It made him contemplate his whole existence, who he really was. He didn't even know his real identity and that terrified him. Although, it wasn't just about who he was, but everyone around him. Were his parents real? Mika and Silver? If not, then who were they?

He gritted his teeth, gripping the blanket tight in his fists.

That couldn't be true, though. Even if he wasn't related to his parents by blood, he was surely adopted by them, but why did they never mention it to him? And if all this was true, did that mean that he was a Dragonslayer too?

He loosened his grip and lifted his hand, staring down at it.

Yet he had never felt these powers that he has been feeling for the past month, boiling under his skin, begging to be released. He had never had the improved senses of smell and hearing like the rest of the Dragonslayers, nor had he ever had transportation sickness. Could it have been because he didn't have any memories of his true identity? But it wouldn't be able for his biological side to change just because his memories and powers were sealed.

"Fuck, I'm actually getting a headache from all this shit." He groaned and rubbed his temple.

He threw the blanket to the side and stood up, walking towards the bathroom that was attached to his room. He pushed the door open and stood over the sink, lifting his head towards the mirror.

There were dark circles under his eyes, hair grisly. When was the last time he had taken a shower?

Then, he opened his mouth and lifted his hand, fingers brushing over his teeth, feeling the sharpness. His teeth had transformed into sharp canines, just like a Dragonslayer's a few nights after the end of the war. His two senses of hearing and smell had been also improved greatly and had been trying his best to hide it all and pretend like nothing's changed, but lately, it has been getting harder.

The fact that he had been spending a lot of hours at the guild's library searching everything about dragons didn't really help his situation much. Some have been getting suspicious but it was only logical, as he literally had never visited the library before out of personal interest, but he couldn't help it. There were so many unanswered questions, about the origin of the dragon that kept appearing in his dreams, Algor, about what became of her after she sealed away his memories.

It was odd, suspicious how Algor was never mentioned by any of the Dragonslayers or the other dragons. Why? Just who was she? And why hadn't she appeared with the rest of the dragon's in the battle against Acnologia?

Nothing added up, no matter how hard he thought about it and, the worst thing was, nobody could actually help him with his search. He couldn't just walk up to somebody and tell them that he was searching for 'his' dragon that he, himself, wasn't even sure might yet exist. What would he tell them, that he was an Ice Dragonslayer? Everybody would think that he has gotten mad, so, no matter what, he couldn't ask anybody about—

His eyes widened, gasping as he stared at his reflection in the mirror, "Porlyusica…"

Could she be able to help her? Even if she was from Edolas and knew about someone named Algor from her world, then she could help him understand this world's Algor, too.

He pressed his mouth into a tight line and shed every layer of clothing that he was wearing and stepped into the shower. He quickly cleaned himself and after being done, he put on a new set of clothes and headed out, walking towards Porlyusica's lab.

When he finally arrived, he lifted his fist and lightly knocked on the door. He waited whilst tapping his foot impatiently on the ground, but as much as he wanted to barge in, he knew that he had to be patient in order for Porlyusica to accept him.

After a long while, the door finally opened just a crack, revealing Porlyusica's face and pink locks.

"Who is it?"

"It's me, Gray, I'm sorry for intruding, but I wouldn't be here if it wasn't urgent." He announced, taking a step forward.

"Is it a matter of life and death? It isn't? Then I guess it can wai—" she inhaled sharply, eyes narrowing as she silently studied him.

"You…there's something different about you, about your magic. This magic power feels like…a Dragonslayer's," she whispered, eyes now widening.

"Yeah, uh, that's what I needed to talk to you about, so…can I come in?" he asked.

Immediately, the door was opened and he was jerked forward, and once he was pulled into the lab, the door behind him closed with a loud bang.

"Sit." Porlyusica commanded, pointing towards a chair near a desk.

He quickly made his way and sat down. She dragged a chair from nearby and set it across from him, sat down and opened up a notebook.

"Explain."

He sighed and said everything to her, from his encounter with Zeref, the memories from that point up until now, the changes in his body and in his magic. When he finally had finished, Porlyusica remained silent for quite a while, just staring down at the notebook in her hands.

"From what I observed, you didn't seem much surprised when I mentioned the name 'Algor'. Do you happen to know who she is? And what kind of relation she could have with me? It's just…none of this makes sense," he wondered, lowering his head.

"I can't give you the answers you seek, because I, too, don't know of who she exactly is and what has happened to her in this world, your world. In mine, Edolas, she was an Ice Mage, didn't have any family that I knew of and died around the age of thirty." Porlyusica stated as she wrote something down on her notebook.

"That doesn't help me at all in figuring out this whole mess about Earthland's Algor, though…what if she is still alive, somewhere out there?" He wondered.

"Please, do not start a hunting journey like Natsu did for Igneel, you know where that got him— and even if she was still alive, which I highly doubt, where exactly would you start to search for her? It will be futile." She declared, staring at him with calculating eyes.

He sighed deeply, "Then what should I do? Nothing? Wait for more memories to come, in hopes of gaining something from them?"

"Do you have a better suggestion?" she said and crossed her arms over her chest.

He gritted his teeth, hands clenching into tight fists, "I don't, but this is really frustrating! Everything I've known up until know turns out to be a lie! My parents might not even be my biological ones, I find out that I have been born four hundred years ago and transported to his time and am a Dragonslayer, no less!" he snapped.

"I just want to know what the hell is going on…" he whispered, shoulders hunching forward.

"Is it possible that your dragon had another kind of mission...?" Porlyusica mumbled to herself as he tapped the pen she was holding against her notebook.

"What…?"

"Every Dragonslayer was transported here in the seventh of July, year 777, right? But when Natsu joined the guild, you were already there, and you did have the memories of your parents and living with your master, so, was it possible that you were transported to the future earlier?" She wondered and started writing down again in her notebook.

"When you put it like that, you do have a point, but…for what reason? What was Algor's objective?" He questioned.

"I have no idea, but isn't it odd that you were the only one whom memories of living with Algor were sealed away?"

He nodded and looked down at his hands in his lap, "That's true…"

He clicked his tongue and tugged at his hair, "God fucking dammit, none of this shit makes sense! What the hell am I supposed to do?" he barked.

A tense silence stretched between them, as both of them didn't utter a word for a while.

Could he really not do anything? Would he accept defeat and sit quietly, waiting for something to happen and hopefully enlighten him on the matter?

"There is a dark guild, located somewhere at the outskirts of Midi. I think they specialize in forbidden spells and might also have a wide knowledge when it comes to legendary creatures like the dragons. It might be worthwhile to check it out." She instructed and closed her notebook, leaning forward and placing it down onto her desk.

He shot up from his chair, "Thank you for your help and the information, I'll pack and head out as soon as possible." He informed and was about to walk away, but a hand that wrapped around his wrist stopped him.

"It wouldn't be a good idea to leave so soon and alone too, I suggest that you stay and try to figure out things more, learn more about your new magic and then, with your friends' help, you can go." She stated and tugged him back.

"But sitting around here and doing nothing won't help me at all, I need to find some answers as soon as possible, and if going to that dark guild is the only solution, then I have to—"

"Gray!" She snapped, eyes narrowed.

He gritted his teeth and pulled his hand away.

"You need to settle down for a while. Figure out what is going on with your powers, with your new memories and then you can go. Also, you will visit me regularly and fill me in on everything new that has happened, and I will do some extra check-ups to see what has changed in your body and magic," She stated and waved her hand, "that's all, you are free to go now."

He hesitatingly nodded and started walking towards the front door.

"I won't interfere, as this is something that you need to do, but you do know that you will have to tell them eventually."

His hand paused against the door handle.

"I will, soon." He mumbled and opened the door, walking out of the lab.


	2. Chapter 2

Gray groaned and rested his head against the table in front of him, head feeling like it was going to split in half at any second. After his first meeting with Porlyusica yesterday, his thoughts had been more disarrayed and in total chaos.

He was in desperate need of a vacation, something to get his mind off these bizarre things that he had been dealing with the past month, but he knew that it wasn't possible. Yet being in the guild, pretending like nothing was wrong only made things worse, as it only resulted in making him moody and irritated.

All these voices and loud screaming, how were the other Dragonslayers able to bear with it? Everyone was just too damn loud, like they were screaming right next to his ear.

"Are you not feeling well, Gray?"

A hand touched his back and started to rub him in slow, soothing circles. He sighed and turned his head to his right, glancing up at Lucy.

"I just have this immense headache, might be coming down with something." He mumbled and leaned in into her space, oddly seeking for warmth.

"You sure it's just that? I don't remember if I have ever seen you having common flu." Lucy responded and lifted her other hand, bringing it close to his forehead.

"Your body is quite cold, though, so I'm assuming this is a good thing for you…?" she offered, giving him an unsure smile.

"Yeah, it is— don't worry too much about it, though, I'm sure it will pass." He said and winced as he heard a loud crashing sound, head throbbing from it.

"I don't know about that, Gray, you really don't seem very well…how about I get Wendy? I'm sure she'll be able to—"

He shot up and held up his palm, "No! I-I mean, uh, there's no need to bother her with such a trivial thing, it's just a headache…" he gritted his teeth and averted his eyes, away from Lucy's calculating gaze.

"Gray, you—"

"Hey, what's up guys? What's going on here?" Natsu said loudly, making him cringe.

"Did you swallow a microphone? Jesus, you're loud," he commented and rubbed his temple.

"What was that? You wanna go, ice-freak?" Natsu slammed his hands on the table and leaned close to his face.

And that was when it hit him, his nostrils being filled with the smell of cinnamon and vanilla. It was…soothing, made him feel safe. His whole body melted, any kind of anxious thought leaving his mind.

Was that…Natsu's scent? While it's true that he could now smell everybody's scent, nobody else's had made him react this way. Was it because Natsu was a Dragonslayer? But he didn't react this way when he was in close proximity with Wendy, Gajeel or Laxus.

"Go away, I'm not in the mood to kick your ass right now," he grumbled and rested his head on the table, hiding his heated face.

"Well, that's a first," Lucy said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Aw, are you scared that you'll get beaten? It's understandable, I mean, who would go against the mighty Fire Dragonslayer Natsu Dragneel?" Natsu placed his hands on his hips and started cackling, a small burst of fire coming out of his mouth.

"When I figure this shit out, we'll see who's gonna beat who…" he mumbled under his breath.

"Figure out what shit?"

He jerked up and lifted his head, black eyes meeting intense emerald staring down at him.

"N-Nothing…"

His breath hitched in his throat as Natsu leaned further in, centimeters away from his face.

"Is there something you're not telling us, Gray?"

His heart started beating loud against his ribcage, chest tightening as he gawked at Natsu.

Shit, did he figure it out…?

"Fuck, I just remembered that I might have left the shower running from this morning! I-I need to go," he shot up from the table and sprinted away, towards the two doors of the guild.

As he ran outside, until the doors were closed again, he could feel eyes boring into the back of his head. He slowed down and started walking away from the guild, through the town's streets.

What the hell was that feeling? Why was he so vulnerable against Natsu's scent? Being a Dragonslayer was the worst.

Would the guild's library have anything on Dragonslayers? Not many existed, so probably such detailed information wouldn't have been written down in any books that he could have access to and it's not like he could go around asking Natsu, Wendy, Gajeel or Laxus for that matter.

Maybe Porlyusica knew something more? He could always ask her when the time arrived for his regular check-up.

He covered his eyes as something bright blinded him. Then, he came to a stop and lowered his hands again, glancing around. His eyes widened as he gazed at the familiar river running through Magnolia.

He walked down the small hill and stopped just before the river. He sat down cross-legged and placed his right elbow on his knee, resting his chin on his palm.

This situation couldn't get any more complicated— his true identity had been revealed, by Zeref, no less, his parents weren't even his biological ones, and he had some new powers to discover.

No matter what else happened, nothing could really surprise him now.

* * *

 _"_ _Gray, do you know what a mate is?" Algor asked as she walked next to young Gray._

 _"_ _Is it food?" Young Gray questioned, tilting his head to the right._

 _"_ _Ah, no, it's not. A mate is actually a partner, a best friend, a lover, a soulmate that will remain by your side forever. They will love you unconditionally and will accept you just the way you are, with all your flaws and weaknesses. Remember this, because it's very important, as only Dragonslayers have mates." She explained and smiled down at him._

 _Young Gray rubbed his chin, staring off into space in thought._

 _"_ _So, something like you?" he said, looking up to her._

 _Algor's eyes widened and a snort escaped her lips._

 _"_ _What's so funny?!" Gray snapped, heat spreading on his face._

 _"_ _I'm really honored that you think of me that way, but no, I'm not your mate and it's quite different from my relationship with you. With your mate, it's going to be so much more, you'll feel like you'll be invincible when you're with them." She clarified._

 _"_ _And how will I know when I've met them?" he wondered, kicking a small rock on the ground._

 _"_ _You will, it's instinct. You will be pulled towards them in an unexplainable way, you'll want to protect them, to cherish them, to love them." She finished._

 _Young Gray tilted his head, staring up at her in confusion._

 _Algor snickered and lightly tapped his head with her tail, "Well, I guess it's too hard for you to realize it now, but, when you do find your mate, their scent will stand out most to you, it'll make you feel calm, serene, almost like a drug. Their mere presence will make you feel happy, whole."_

 _He lowered his head and stared down at his feet, "I see…I wonder if they'll like me back."_

 _"_ _Of course they will, don't be silly! They're your mate after all, you are destined to fall in love with each other."_

 _Young Gray scoffed and smirked, "I didn't know you were such a romantic, Algor. Maybe it's from your old age?"_

 _He yelped as he felt something whack him on the head, sending him smacking on the ground._

 _"_ _Hey, what the fuck was that for, old hag?!" he yelled, glaring up at her._

 _"_ _What was that? You want to say it again? I don't think I heard you clearly, Gray." She grinned widely, sharp canines glistening as she breathed out a steam of ice._

 _"_ _N-Now that I think about it, I can't really remember what I said…" he muttered and rubbed the back of his head, lifting himself off the ground._

 _"_ _That's a good boy." She teased him and started walking again through the forest._

 _"_ _I'll show you one day, you just wait…" he grumbled as he crossed his arms over his chest._

 _"_ _Gray, have I ever told you that Dragons have exceptional hearing?"_

 _"_ _Oh, fuck…"_

Gray shot up on the bed, panting heavily as a bead of sweat rolled down his face. He placed a hand over his heart and gripped his shirt tightly.

 _Mates…?_

Did Dragonslayers really have such a thing as mates? If so, then why had never anyone mentioned it? Why hadn't Natsu said anything? Had he already found his mate?

His chest tightened painfully at the thought. Why did he care anyway? Natsu could do whatever the hell he wanted, why would he be concerned with who he went with?

 _"_ _When you do find your mate, their scent will stand out most to you, it'll make you feel calm, serene, almost like a drug."_

He gasped, eyes widening as those words were repeated continuously in his head.

It couldn't be true, could it…? There was no way that Natsu was his…

"Fuck no!" he screamed and threw his pillow across the room.

He flinched as he heard a crashing sound and lifted his head, cursing as he stared at his half-destroyed closet. Apparently, he had covered the pillow with ice and it was now impended inside his closet.

He groaned and buried his face into his hands, "Why the fuck does this shit keep happening to me?"

Heat spread over his cheeks and cursed again when he realized that three days had already passed since the last time that he had visited Porlyusica and needed to go again today. He quickly put on a tight, black t-shirt, his regular dark blue pants and a dark blue coat. He stepped out of his house and started walking towards Porlyusica's lab.

When he arrived, he knocked and after a few seconds, the door was opened and he was ushered inside.

"Wow, that was fast." He commented and flinched under her glare.

"Maybe the next time I will let you wait for an hour or two?" she said and turned away, walking towards her desk.

"Please don't," he said and followed her, taking a seat at the same chair as the last time.

She sat down across from him and opened up her notebook, "So? Any changes that you need to report?"

He averted his eyes, biting his lower lip as he felt heat creep up his face again.

"What is it?"

"I had, uh, I had a rather peculiar dream today…it was a memory again." He replied.

"And? What was it about?"

He drily swallowed and slowly turned his head back to her, "It was with me and Algor again and this time she was explaining to me about…mates," he disclosed.

"By your reaction, I'm assuming that you didn't know this, right?" she asked and started writing down on her notebook.

"Of course I didn't know! It's not like Natsu and the rest of the Dragonslayers ever mentioned it!" he snapped.

"Don't you raise your tone at me!" she commanded and sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Of course they wouldn't mention anything like that, their mate is a very sacred person to them, they don't take it lightly. So, did you figure out who is your mate?" she asked as she lifted an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I did…" he mumbled as he tapped his foot against the floor.

"You don't need to tell me who it is, I'll let you deal with that part on your own, you have already given me enough problems as it is," Porlyusica stated as she closed her notebook.

"Sorry, but I really can't go to anyone else about this."

"You could just announce it to the guild and let the other Dragonslayers help you with what you're going through." She suggested.

He shot up from his seat, arm spread wide, "There's no way in a million years that I would ever reveal something like that to the whole guild! I don't even know what is going on— how the fuck am I going to explain it to the rest of them?" he finished, panting.

"That's entirely up to you."

He huffed and crossed his arms over his chest.

Porlyusica sighed, "Is that all?"

He silently nodded and Porlyusica waved her had dismissively.

"Come on then, off you go, you have bothered me enough for today." She said.

He sighed and headed out of her lab, deciding that, as it was still late in the morning, he should go to the guild. After a couple of minutes of walking, when he finally saw the guild up ahead, he paused as the realization dawned upon him.

There was no way that he could face Natsu and pretend like everything's normal after everything.

"I'll just avoid him and everything's going to be alright…" he mumbled to himself.

As he stood in front of the doors of the guild, he took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to calm his nerves. Then, he pushed the doors open, walking inside.

"You sure took your time, Gray."

He flinched as he came face to face with Erza, who was staring at him intently through narrowed eyes, hands crossed over her chest.

"Uh, hey Erza, what's up…?" he weakly asked, rubbing the back of his head.

"You're late." She announced.

"Late for what, exactly?" he wondered and froze as a familiar arm was wrapped his shoulders, the scent of cinnamon and vanilla filling his nostrils.

"For our mission, of course," Natsu replied and grinned widely as he side-glanced at him.

"Mission? Oh, I better return home to pack my bag, then— I'll meet you guys at the train station!" he slipped away from Natsu's arm and sprinted outside the guild again.

He started running towards his house, heart rate picking up as he heard Natsu mumble out his name.

"Fucking idiot, if I didn't know better, I could swear that he is doing it on purpose." He said through gritted teeth as he continued to run.

When he arrived back at his house, he quickly packed up his bag with a set of new clothes (although he probably wouldn't need them), a bottle of water and plenty of money. As he finished, he headed out and jogged towards the train station. After a few minutes as he arrived, he looked around and noticed that nobody from his team had arrived yet and sighed. He sat on one of the benches and waited for the rest to arrive.

He glanced up at the train that was stationed on the railings, ready to depart. His stomach sank and covered his mouth with his hand, feeling sick at the sight of it.

 _Dammit, I had totally forgotten about the transportation sickness…_

"You lookin' kinda pale there, buddy, what's wrong?"

He turned his head to the left, eyes widening in alarm at the sight of a smug Natsu who was followed by Happy.

"N-Nothing, I'm fine," he replied and lowered his hand, clearing his throat.

"You sure? You do look kinda weak, I wouldn't want for you to drag us down while on the mission."

He gritted his teeth, "Who would drag who down, you idiot—"

His breath hitched in his throat as Natsu appeared right in front of his face, warm hand touching his forehead.

"Thankfully, you're not warm," Natsu stated.

He shivered as the familiar and soothing scent filled his nostrils and leaned into the touch, seeking the warmness. Then, his eyes snapped open, and recoiled, slapping Natsu's hand away as he realized what he had just done.

"Don't fucking touch me!" he snapped, eyebrows lifting as he stared into Natsu's surprised and…hurt that flashed in his eyes?

He gritted his teeth and turned away, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Gray! That was mean!" Happy said as he flew towards Natsu, staring at him with worried eyes.

"Whatever…" he mumbled under his breath, chest tightening painfully.

"There they are! Come on guys, what are you waiting for? If we don't hurry, the train's gonna leave without us, you know!" Lucy addressed them, waving her hand high above her.

He sighed and stood up, walking towards Erza, Lucy, Wendy, and Carla.

* * *

"I…I probably should have sat this one out, I seriously don't feel well…" Gray heaved against the ground as they had arrived at their destination, the torture finally coming to an end.

"You should have told us about it before we took off," Lucy said and kneeled next to him, rubbing his back soothingly, "are you sure you're going to be okay for the rest of the trip, though? We can't just send you back alone."

He weakly nodded and stood up on shaky legs.

"I just need some fresh air and I'll calm down, probably." He stated and slang again his bag over his shoulder.

"Actually, now that I think about it, I didn't really read the job you got, so, where exactly are we? And what's the mission's objective?" he asked Lucy as they all started walking towards the center of the town.

"We are at Clover Town, but our job will be quite uneventful, I think. Tomorrow we're supposed to meet with our client who put up the job— a magic scroll of his got stolen a few days ago, and he wasn't able to retrieve it, so he requested for the help of mages, which is us in this case, in hopes of successfully managing to track down the thief and return it to him." Lucy explained with a small smile on her face.

He nodded, "Sounds easy enough. I'm assuming we're heading towards the hotel we're gonna be staying for the night, right?"

"That's right," Erza spoke up as she walked next to him, "the sun has already set, so we think it's best that we rest for now."

"Fair enough."

The walk to their hotel didn't last long, but Natsu's and Happy's constant whining made it quite unbearable.

"I'm hungry, let's stop at a restaurant and eat," Natsu whined, dragging his feet on the ground, posture slouched.

"Me too! I want to eat some fish!" Happy agreed and touched his growling stomach.

"Come on, guys, please, let's stop somewhere and eat." Natsu insisted, whining yet again as his stomach growled.

"Will you shut up already? Jesus, you're annoying as hell." He snapped and sighed in frustration.

"So, that's what it will take for you to finally talk to me?" Natsu asked and side-glanced at him as they were walking.

He inhaled sharply and averted his eyes, looking to his left. Things didn't look good, Natsu had started suspecting something. Maybe his plan of avoiding him only made it worse, but what else could he do? It was impossible to be in close proximity and not go crazy.

"Please, don't start a fight in the middle of the town, Natsu-san, Gray-san," Wendy said as she gently touched Natsu's arm.

"Fine…" Natsu grumbled and looked away from Gray, thankfully leaving him alone.

After a few, they reached their hotel and walked into the reception.

"Good evening, we are mages from Fairy Tail that booked two rooms for this night," Erza stated as she leaned against the counter in front of her.

"Y-Yes, of course, the Fairy Tail mages, here are your two keys! Enjoy your stay!" The young man placed the two room keys on the counter and bowed.

Erza grabbed one key and started walking away, "Let's go, Lucy, Wendy, Carla and Happy."

"Aye!" Happy chirped and flew next to Erza.

"See you tomorrow, boys," Erza called out and waved her hand goodbye over her shoulders.

He remained there, frozen as he stared at the girls' retreating forms. Then, he slowly turned his head towards Natsu and gulped as he noticed that the other boy was already staring at him. He snatched the key from the counter and quickly made his way down the hall, where the stairs were. He walked up the stairs and glanced down at the number carved on the key.

 _27_

He passed a few doors and then finally stopped outside the one that had the number twenty-seven on it. He fumbled with the key and with shaky hands, opened the door, stepping inside. He winced as the door was closed with a loud bang.

He walked further into the room and glanced around. His eyes widened in horror as they fell upon the one king-sized bed.

This is the worst it could possibly get…

"I-I'm going to the bathroom," he announced, dropped his bag and rushed to the bathroom, locking the door once inside.

He let out a deep breath, leaned back against the door and slid down on the floor. He took a few deep breaths, exhaling slowly, trying to compose himself. He needed to get any unnecessary thought out of his mind and just focus on getting into bed and going to sleep.

It sounded simple enough.

He stood up and stepped close to the sink, twisting the handle and pouring some water onto his face. He twisted it back up again and grabbed the towel to his left, drying his face.

Then, he unlocked the door, walking out of the bathroom and into the room. His eyes fell on top of Natsu's sleeping form on the bed and let out a small sigh. He walked to the right side and slipped out of his coat and shoes. As much as he was itching to shed all layers of clothing, it was a huge risk doing it whilst Natsu was present and decided against it.

He laid down and curled up on his side towards the edge of the bed, making sure that he was as far away from Natsu as possible. He closed his eyes and little by little, let his guard down, relaxing.

"Do I really repulse you that much that you don't even want me touching you?"

He flinched as he heard Natsu's voice close by behind him, eyes widening in alarm. He licked his lips and gripped the pillow bellow his head tight.

"You don't repulse me." He whispered into the darkness.

"Then why are you avoiding me?" Natsu demanded, voice suddenly sounding closer than before.

"I'm not…" he added and cleared his throat, "anyways, can I go to sleep now? I'm pretty tired from the trip and I want to—"

He yelped as a hand grabbed his shoulder and turned him flat on his back. Natsu crawled on top of him and placed his hands at either side of his face on the bed.

His chest tightened, breath shortening and averted his eyes as heat crept up his face. He placed his hands on Natsu's chest and tried to push him away.

"Natsu, cut the bullshit and get off me," he hissed and pushed harder, but he wasn't budging an inch.

"See what I mean? Even in the darkness, you avoid looking at me— why? Did I do something to you? Tell me, Gray." Natsu whispered, his breath ghosting over his face.

"If you don't get off me in the next seconds, I'm going to kick your ass." He threatened, voice low.

"Did I do something that upset you? Or is it just you? What has changed, Gray?"

"This doesn't concern you, idiot! Just leave me alone!" he snapped and gritted his teeth as soon as the word left his mouth.

He could sense a change in the atmosphere around him, in Natsu's scent…what was this heavy feeling?

"Oh, I see, fine then," Natsu said and rolled off him, laying down on his left side, his back facing Gray.

He turned towards the other way and closed his eyes shut. He clutched the fabric of his shirt that was over his chest, feeling his heart beat loud against his ribcage.

It wasn't until a while after that he managed to fade away into a dreamless sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

"Thank you so much for bringing the scroll back to me, I owe you so much!" The middle-aged man said as he tightened his grip on Gray's bicep, leaning in.

"Y-You're welcome," Gray said through gritted teeth, fingers twitching at his side.

The search for the thief hadn't taken them long, with Natsu's and Wendy's exceptional hearing and smell, they had found him under an hour. Of course, he knew where the thief was located at, too, yet he couldn't say anything for obvious reasons. Now, as they had returned the scroll back to the man who had set up the job, the man wouldn't stop rubbing and touching him and he was starting to lose his patience.

"You're so strong and trustworthy, maybe I should request for you again sometime?" the man winked, smiling widely.

"Uh, you see, I'm kind of a busy man, so…" he trailed off, trying to tug his arm out of the man's hold but it wouldn't budge and he didn't want to be forceful and hurt him.

"Such a shame, indeed," the man sighed and leaned his head on his arm.

He looked up to Erza and Lucy pleadingly, yet they both looked away, ignoring him.

"Gray, come on, we're leaving." Natsu spoke up, voice gruff as his eyes were covered by his pink bangs.

He turned his head towards Natsu, gaping at him.

 _Is that idiot really helping me?_

"Aw, do you have to leave so fast? I was hoping that you could—"

Suddenly, Natsu appeared right in front of them, emerald eyes glaring down at the man beside him. Natsu grabbed him by the other arm and tugged him to the side.

"I'm sorry, but we have to go." Natsu stated and started walking away, dragging Gray by the hand.

"You can let go of my hand now," he said and Natsu immediately loosened his grip on him.

"Also, uh, thanks."

"No problem." Natsu replied and started walking ahead of them, with Happy flying by his side, giggling at him.

 _That was odd…_

He snapped his head towards Lucy and Erza and pointed his finger at them, "Why the fuck didn't you two help me?" he barked.

"Well, you kinda seemed to be enjoying it…" Lucy covered her mouth with her hand and snickered.

"When did I seem like I was enjoying any of that?!" he exploded.

"Well, Natsu helped you out, so everything's fine now, right? There's no reason to make a deal about it," Erza said with a smile.

He lowered his hand, grumbling under his breath and glanced up at Natsu.

 _I never know what runs through that idiot's brain…_

He only hoped that Natsu hadn't figured out anything yet.

* * *

A few days had passed since they had returned from their mission and things had been oddly calm. Natsu had started acting like nothing was wrong, like that incident in the hotel never happened which was unsettling, but it was a convenient outcome for him, so he just forgot about it and moved on.

He sighed and placed his right elbow on the table in front of him, resting his chin on his palm.

"Porlyusica?! What are you doing here?"

He snapped his head to the left, eyes widening as he saw Porlyusica walking towards Makarov.

 _What the fuck is she doing here?!_

He frowned as she side-glanced at him briefly, the action barely visible. Everyone quieted down as she stopped in front of Makarov and slightly bowed.

A lot of gasps went around the guild, one of them was Makarov who gaped at her.

"I wouldn't have been doing this if I had another option, but I…I need your help." She stated, staring intently into Makarov's eyes.

Makarov nodded, face closing up, "What is it?"

"I have been working on an experiment for a while now, it is a cure, you could say, and I require some ingredients that I can't obtain on my own," she started, straightening back up, "trust me, asking a favor from you is the last thing I want, but this is, unfortunately, way out of my capabilities. It is extremely dangerous and I would fully understand if you—"

Makarov held up his hand, silencing her.

"There is no need to explain yourself any further, whatever it is, we will bring it to you. You have helped us numerous times, and I think it's about time we repay you for your kindness." Makarov stated.

"So, where are these ingredients' location?"

"At a dark guild, located somewhere at the outskirts of Midi." She revealed.

He pressed his mouth into a tight line as his eyes bored into Porlyusica. Just what the hell was she doing? Why was she sacrificing herself like that? They hadn't agreed on something like that, she was taking on the whole burden.

He would make sure to repay her back after all of this was over.

"You heard her, who wants to volunteer?" Makarov spoke up and glanced around at the guild.

A lot of yelling and hands were raised, almost everyone willing to go. He stood up and walked towards them.

"Gramps, please let me go." He requested and squared his shoulders, lifting his chin.

Makarov grinned, "Are you sure, Gray?"

"Yes." He nodded and clenched his hands into fists at his side.

"Very well, then, you're in, Gray— now, who will the rest members of this team be?" Makarov wondered.

"Let me go, gramps!" Natsu came up from behind him, staring at Makarov with fire in his eyes.

"Okay, to make this quick, the team will be consisted of; Gray, Natsu, Erza, Wendy, Lucy, Gajeel and Laxus. You'll be leaving first thing tomorrow morning." He announced and immediately a lot of groans followed.

"Hell yeah! I'm all fired up now!" Natsu yelled and thrust his flaming fist into the air.

He only had one chance to find the answers he was seeking and wouldn't let it go to waste.

* * *

"I see you're feeling better now, Gray." Erza commented as she sat down next to him.

He hummed in agreement and he gazed outside the train's window, watching the land they were passing by.

"Yeah, thankfully I managed to fully recover." He confirmed, sighing inwardly, thankful for Porlyusica once again.

Just before he was about to leave this morning, he had dropped by Porlyusica's place, wanting to thank her for what she had done for him and yet again, she had ended up helping him again, as she gave him some special pills that she had composed, which resulted in suppressing his Dragonslayer side for a short amount of time.

He was feeling guilty as he heard Natsu, Wendy, Gajeel and Laxus who were currently suffering from it, but he refrained himself from doing anything abrupt. He couldn't just walk up to them and give them these kind of pills that were exclusively made for Dragonslayers, everyone would become more suspicious than they already were.

"I'm glad," Erza said and patted his shoulder.

He cringed as he heard heaving sounds from the backseats again, hand coming to rest upon his stomach.

"I feel bad for them…this is the first mission we've had in while that is a long distance from Magnolia— it's even outside of Fiore," Lucy commented, mouth pressing into a tight line as she leaned to the left, glancing at the Dragonslayers in the seat behind them.

"Well, unfortunately, we can't do anything about it, they'll just have to endure it for the time being," Erza said and crossed her arms over her chest, leaning back into her seat.

Their trip lasted about a week until they managed to reach Midi and narrow down the dark guild's exact location. Now, they were all sitting down around the campfire Natsu had created for them, going again over the plan again.

"Okay, listen closely, cause this is the last time that I'm going to say this— we infiltrate the guild without getting detected, then we split into three teams; Natsu and Gray, Laxus and Gajeel, and Wendy, Lucy with me. Each team will search for the specific scroll they have been assigned with, and try to do it as discreetly as you can, our objective is to obtain the three scrolls and depart without getting detected. Any questions?" Erza repeated, her calculating gaze passing them on by one.

Everybody remained silent and she clapped her hands, standing up, "Very well, let's go."

He stood up with the rest of the team and they all started walking towards the secluded area of the forest, where they had located the dark guild. A dark, old-looking building came into view and it was indeed very well hidden, couldn't be seen clearly.

"Lucy, if you may." Erza addressed her and Lucy nodded, stepping forward.

"Gate of the Maiden, I open thee! Virgo!" She said and thrust her hand down, a light covering her as Virgo appeared in the next instant.

"Is it time to be punished?" Virgo asked as she clasped her hands behind her back.

"Ah, no, we need to infiltrate this dark guild without being detected— please, lend me your hand, Virgo." Lucy requested and Virgo nodded.

"Right away, princess."

Virgo started digging into the ground, creating a large passage that lead into the guild.

"Come on, guys, we don't have any time to waste," Erza instructed as she lowered herself to the ground and crawled into the hole, with Lucy and Wendy following her.

He stepped forward and crouched low, squeezing underground into the hole. He started crawling forward, heart beating loud against his chest as he felt Natsu close behind him.

Everything was dark underneath and he cursed as he bumped into Wendy.

"Wendy, what happened? Why did we stop?" Gray whispered into the dark.

"Erza-san has stopped, she wants to make sure that the area is clear," she replied.

Then, he yelped as he felt a hand grab his ass. He blushed and lifted his foot, kicking the person that was behind him.

"Ow, what the hell was that for, popsicle?" Natsu hissed.

"That's for grabbing my ass, you idiot!" He snapped and kicked again, yet this time he missed.

"Well, I'm sorry, but I can't exactly see in here!"

"Will you guys shut the fuck up for a second and take this seriously?"

He heard Gajeel growl at them from far back.

Then, he heard Wendy moving again and he started crawling forward too, a ray of light appearing into the distance. As he got closer, the light became brighter and he pulled himself up, finally climbing out of the hole and into concrete.

"Is everyone out?" Erza whispered and everybody nodded at her.

"Good, okay, so you know what your roles are— go!" she said and they formed into the three teams, disbanding.

He and Natsu walked to the east section of the guild, walking cautiously with their backs against the wall. He pushed open a wooden door and as they walked inside, he glanced around the room. His eyes narrowed as his eyes fell upon the many empty cells.

"Seems like we are in the cell section, we better make our way up." He instructed quietly and walked across the room, where another identical wooden door was located.

"Gray, watch out!" Natsu yelled.

He smelled another presence coming from above him and jumped backward, managing to dodge out of the way as a dark blast made contact with the ground where he was previously standing on, creating a huge crate in it.

"Looks like we've been already discovered," He clicked his tongue and stared at the black hooded figure of a man that landed before them through narrowed eyes.

Then, a hand spread over his chest and he glanced to his right, noticing that Natsu had stepped up and was shielding him away from the mysterious hooded man.

"Stay back, I'm sensing some dangerous magic from this guy," He commanded as his emerald eyes were glaring holes into the man before them.

He snapped his head in front of him as he heard the man cackle.

"Will you play with me?" the man asked, a huge grin forming on the person's face as half of his face came into the light.

"Sorry, but I ain't got no time for games," Natsu stated and kicked off his feet, flaming fist swinging towards the man's head.

Gray gasped as the hooded figure disappeared, Natsu's fist hitting the wall behind him, destroying it.

"Shit, where did that fucker go?!" Natsu barked, eyes narrowed, glancing all around him.

Then, he sensed a presence coming from behind him and he whirled around, slamming his hands against the ground, creating a huge wall of ice.

"Ice-Make Shield!"

He jumped backward, close to Natsu.

"Why the fuck didn't you blast him away and make a shield? You obviously had him!" Natsu hissed at him as he lowered his stance, ready to pounce.

"I can't afford to make any more noise and alert the whole guild— be thankful that we have to deal with only one person!" he replied and placed his right fist on top of his left palm.

"Ice-Make Lance!"

A blue circle appeared in front of him and sharpened ice flew off of it, directed towards the hooded man. He smirked as the man jumped away to the right.

"Got you," he whispered, "now, Natsu!"

Natsu raised his flaming fists and slammed them down on the man, sending him hard onto the ground beneath them.

He slightly relaxed and sighed as he noticed that the man was no longer moving.

"Now, let's see who hides behind the hood." He said and stepped towards the figure laying on the ground.

He reached forward and grabbed the man's shoulder, flipping him on their back. He gasped, eyes widening in alarm as he stared down at emptiness.

"Natsu, watch out—" before he could finish, something hit him from behind, sending him spiraling forward, smacking against the wall.

He couched and was about to stand up when he felt a presence behind him.

"Gray!"

A hand gripped his neck tightly, lifting him off the ground. In the next instant, his hands were tied behind his back, a pair of shackles closing around on his wrists. He tried to will forward his magic, but he couldn't do anything, and realization dawned on his face.

These shackles were blocking his magic.

He lifted his eyes and saw Natsu tied down into a chair, the same shackles closed around his wrists and body, holding him down.

"Who should I play with first? Who to pick? I can't decide!" a high-pitched voice came from the hooded man that was holding him in the air by his neck.

"Leave him alone, you fucker! I swear to god, if you touch one strand of hair from his head, I'm going to kill you!" Natsu screamed, struggling against his restraints.

"Aw, you're so mean, I don't like it…maybe I should play with you and teach you some manners?" the man said and threw Gray against the wall.

He coughed violently, spitting blood out of his mouth. Then, chains emerged from the wall behind him, wrapping his body and tightening around him, keeping him glued to the wall.

"I'll make sure to let you enjoy the show," the figure whispered and stepped away from him, turning towards Natsu.

"No! Get the fuck away from him! Don't you dare hurt him!" He yelled and struggled against the chains, thrashing his body.

"Don't worry, I'll take good care of him for you," the hooded man cooed as he stepped behind Natsu and brushed his hand from his chest up to his face, tilting his chin up.

"Get your filthy fucking hands off him!" he hissed and struggled even more, his wrists starting to hurt from the pressure he put them under.

The man pulled out a knife and pressed it onto Natsu's left cheek, over his scar.

"How about we reopen this, hm?"

"No!"

Natsu let out a pained scream as the knife slashed him across the left cheek, reopening the old wound. Blood seeped out from the slash like a stream, traveling down his neck.

He trembled, gritting his teeth as he watched Natsu groan, panting heavily.

"Fuck, I'll kill you, I'll fucking kill you, you bastard! You hear me? I'll kill you!" Gray shouted, chains rattling against the wall as he shot forward, struggling to get them off.

The man chuckled and moved the knife downwards, slashing again deep over Natsu's chest. Natsu let out a piercing scream again and he closed his eyes, feeling tears prickle at his eyes.

"S-Stop it! What do you want, you fucker? Do you want me? If that's what it'll take then leave him alone and take me instead!" he shouted.

"N-No...Gray, I'm okay, you don't n-need to worry about me…" Natsu replied weakly, coughing violently as blood spurted from his lips.

"Shut up, you idiot! I'm not gonna let you go out like this!" he opened his eyes and looked pleadingly at the figure.

"Yes, those are the eyes that I wanted to see, the desperation, the misery and sadness, give it all to me!" the man said and raised the knife again, plunging it into Natsu's right thigh.

Natsu screamed, his whole body shaking from the pain. Then, the man twisted the knife into Natsu's leg and another piercing scream filled his ears.

He let out a choked sob, tears staining his cheeks as he stared at the bloodied image of Natsu.

"Please, I'm begging you, stop it, just let him go— take me in his stead, do whatever you want with me, but please, just let him go!" he cried out.

"The offer is just so tempting, I can't let an eager child of mine be waiting now, can I?" the man purred and jerked the knife out of Natsu's thigh.

"Don't worry, sweetheart, as soon as I'm done with him, I'll give you the attention you want and we'll have _so_ much fun together."

"N-No…don't get…n-near him…" Natsu weakly objected, breathing heavily.

"I'm sorry, but this isn't something you get to decide," the man raised the knife high above him, "bye, bye, Dragonslayer."

Then, the man stabbed Natsu deep inside his stomach and pulled it out again, kicking his chair and letting him fall onto the cold ground.

His eyes widened in horror as he stared at the blood that seeped out of Natsu's stomach, creating a pool around him.

"S-Sorry…Gray…"

He heard Natsu whisper and closed his eyes.

He gaped down at Natsu's bloodied form, completely unmoving.

"No…no, no, no, no, Natsu!" he choked out, struggling hard against the chains now, which were cutting into his skin.

"Oh dear, what a mess I made— now, where were we?" the man asked as he started walking towards Gray.

Something snapped inside of him as he stared at the blood that was covering Natsu's body. Fury coursed through his veins, through his blood and his vision blurred, seeing red.

He let out a howl and broke free of the chains. He kicked off the ground and punched the hooded figured across the face, sending him flying backward, slamming against the wall and destroying it completely, his body flying outside of the building. He walked towards the opening and jumped down, landing heavily against the ground beneath him.

He raised his hands and sharpened ice flew out him, piercing and hitting the hooded figure, earning blood curling screams of agony in return. He walked slowly towards the body of the writhing figure, staring down at the man as ice came out of his body from all places, having pierced organs and bones.

He raised his hand and summoned a huge sharpened sword of ice. He thrust his hand down and slammed it against the man's head, crushing his skull against the ground.

"G-Gray…"

He snapped back into reality and whirled around, eyes widening, tears prickling his eyes again as he saw Erza gaping at him, who supported an unconscious Natsu by her side.

"Gray…what's— what's that over your body?" Erza shakily asked as he stared at him in horror.

He looked down at his hands and noticed the blue, icy scales that covered his skin.

"What the fuck, he's…he's in Dragon Force…" Gajeel whispered.

He lifted his head again and saw that the rest of the team had gathered, everyone staring at him with shock in their eyes.

His breathing quickened, coming out in short pants.

"S-Sorry…" he whispered as he staggered a few steps forward before he fell onto his knees and onto the ground.

He heard frantic screaming and footsteps closing in on him before his world turned black.


	4. Chapter 4

He slowly woke up, blurry vision filled with white. He lifted his shaky arms and rubbed his eyes. Once his vision had cleared, he glanced around and noticed the familiar beds of Fairy Tail's infirmary.

 _What the fuck happened…?_

He tried to move his body, but it felt extremely heavy and sore, pain exploding through his body every time he moved his muscles. Then his eyes widened as everything came back to him.

 _Natsu!_

He looked around frantically yet he was nowhere to be seen. With such injuries, he should have been bedridden, right? How much time had passed since that?

He scrambled off the bed and fell down, knees too weak to support his weight. He crawled towards the door and grabbed the handle, pushing himself upwards and pushed the door open.

"Natsu! Where is Natsu?" He barked and glanced around frantically, eyes scanning through every single one.

Then, he caught a bundle of pink hair and was about to sprint towards him, but his legs gave out on him and he collapsed on the floor. He panted and slammed his fist against the floor, gritting his teeth.

"Idiot."

Arms were wrapped around him and he glanced up to see Erza holding him up on his feet, a sad smile on her face.

"Erza…" he whispered and snapped his head towards the place he had seen pink hair.

"Natsu, where is he? Is he a-alright? How—" he was pulled against her warm chest, fingers threading through his hair, massaging his scalp.

"Shh, calm down, he's alright, Wendy healed him." She reassured.

"I'm glad…so g-glad," his voice cracked, a sob wrecking out of his lips.

He bit his lower lip and squeezed his eyes shut, refusing to cry in front of the whole guild.

"I was so scared, I thought he was…d-dead," he breathed, voice muffled against her chest.

"Natsu, I know you're angry, but you better bring your ass over here right now," Erza commanded and gave him one last pat on the head before letting him go.

The familiar cinnamon and vanilla scent filled his nostrils and glanced up, gaping at Natsu. His eyes roamed his whole body up and down, mouth pressing into a hard line as he saw that he was covered with bandages. Then, he looked upon his face and flinched as Natsu glared down at him, emerald eyes burning.

He knew that everyone was mad, knew that Natsu was more than anyone else, but right now, he needed him. Needed to touch him, to feel him, to know that he is alive and still here with him and he didn't give a shit that he was in the middle of the guild.

He reached out with his shaky hand towards Natsu, "N-Natsu—"

A force knocked him back, strong arms wrapping around his waist, pulling him against a warm chest.

"You have a lot of explaining to do and honestly, I'm so mad at you, but…I'm sorry for doing that to you, snowflake…" he apologized, lips against his ear.

He lifted his arms and wrapped them around Natsu's back, hugging him close. He buried his face into the crook of Natsu's neck and nodded. They stayed like that for a while, no one from the guild daring to break them apart or make a noise.

Eventually, Natsu pulled back and helped him up, pulling him towards the closest table and putting him down on the seat.

He sighed heavily as he saw Makarov come closer as well as everyone else.

"Are you alright, Gray?" Makarov asked as he gently touched his knee.

"Y-Yeah, I think I am now." He responded and lowered his head, staring down at his hands.

"Since when the fuck were you a Dragon Slayer?" Laxus spoke up and Gray raised his head towards him.

"Laxus!" Mirajane hissed and glared at him.

"I'm sure that everybody in here wants to ask, don't try to deny it," Laxus glanced at Mirajane, who remained silent, "I just took the courtesy to ask him, as nobody else seemed willing."

Nobody said anything after that, a tense silence falling over the guild. He let out a deep breath and clenched his hands into fists.

"I didn't always know that I was a Dragonslayer…if I did, I would have told you all from the start, what would have been the point of keeping it a secret?" he started, "Turns out, my memories, powers, and abilities as a Dragonslayer were…sealed away by my dragon, Algor. I only recently got them back thanks to…Zeref." He slightly paused and glanced at Natsu, whose expression was completely closed up, conveying no emotion whatsoever.

"When I confronted Zeref, he sensed something in me and unlocked a small part of my sealed memories. At first, I thought that Zeref was trying to trick me, but what good would come out of showing a dead person false memories? Anyway, since then, some bits and pieces of memories have been coming back to me, mostly when I'm asleep.

"All of them are from my time when I was with Algor…she was a beautiful dragon, with icy blue scales running all over her body. I don't know if she's dead or not, as there hasn't been any sighting of her. Although, in one of my most recent memories of her, I think it was the last time that I had seen her. I remember her telling me that she needed to go away, for a mission of sorts, that she was doing it for me, for us…yet I have never heard from her, which means that she is probably dead."

He finished and let out a shaky breath, waiting for the upcoming reactions.

"Gray, why didn't you say anything sooner?" Lucy asked as she came next to him and touched his shoulder.

"I was scared. At first, I didn't even know if it was true, at some point I believed that I was going insane, but then strange things started happening and I got convinced that this was reality." He replied and placed his own hand over hers.

"Things like what?" Natsu finally spoke, peering down at him with curiosity.

He felt heat spreading in his cheeks and averted his eyes, "Things like exceptional hearing and smelling, my teeth sharpening and transportation sickness," he disclosed and withdrew his hand from Lucy's.

"But when we were in the train, you weren't sick," Erza argued, a frown marring her face.

"I normally would be, but Porlyusica made me these special pills that could help me suppress my Dragonslayer side, including the transportation sickness." He explained.

"Wait, Porlyusica knew about it?" Makarov questioned.

"Yes, she…I, uh, I told her about my decision about two weeks ago, I wanted to make sure that I wasn't just making this all up."

"I see…" Makarov said and rubbed his beard.

"Well, it can't be helped— personally, I'm not mad at you, you only found out recently and had every right to be confused and doubt it, but I don't think that I can say the same thing for the other Dragonslayers of our guild," Makarov said as he glanced towards Natsu.

"Anyway, you two are in need of immediate rest. Take a week off, go home and rest. There's nothing further to discuss." He announced and walked away.

He nodded and stood up, ready to go home, away from everybody's calculating gaze and lock himself up away from the world for the whole week. A hand closed around his wrist and he glanced back, eyebrows lifting as he stared at Natsu.

"You and I haven't finished talking yet," Natsu stated and walked forward, tugging him by the hand.

He remained silent, allowing Natsu to drag him wherever he wanted to, knowing what was about to come. Yet, he was shocked when they reached their destination and gazed at the familiar river.

"Come on, ice-princess." Natsu tugged him forward, walking together down the small hill.

Natsu finally let go of his wrist and slowly lowered himself to the ground, facing towards the sparkling water of the river.

"Sit." Natsu patted the empty area next to him and he stepped next to the pink-haired mage, sitting down.

They both stared at the river in front of them for a while, an oddly comfortable silencing falling over them. He glanced to his left and snorted as he saw that Natsu's face was scrunched up, probably in thought.

"What's so funny, snowflake?" Natsu said, but the usual fire behind the words wasn't there— this time it was calmer, gentler.

"You always grimace when you're in deep thought, if _that's_ even possible," he teased, which earned him a light shove on the shoulder.

"Idiot."

"Flame-brain."

"Popsicle."

They snickered and then heard Natsu sigh heavily.

"I'm really sorry, for back there…" Natsu apologized again, hand moving towards his stomach.

"What are you apologizing for, idiot? No matter how you look at it, you didn't do anything wrong." He argued and his eyes traveled upwards, staring at his bandaged cheek.

"I mean, you did scare me to death, passing out like that, but everything's good, I guess."

Natsu licked his lips and nodded, "Okay, yeah, good."

"How are you holding up, though? Your, um, wounds…?" he asked hesitantly, gesturing with his hand towards Natsu's stomach.

"Well, the only one that managed to heal fully was the first one here," he said and placed his fingers over his right cheek, "as for all the other ones…I will have some scars to remember them by."

He lowered his head and bit his lower lip, "I'm sorry."

Natsu scoffed, "For what?"

"For not being able to help you." He clarified.

"It's not like you didn't want to, I saw how…I saw how you were struggling…you had it pretty rough yourself," Natsu whispered, "it's better that it was me than you."

He snapped his head towards him, "What the fuck, Natsu? Of course it wasn't 'better' that it was you! If I'd only convinced that guy earlier, provoked him so he could leave you alone, you wouldn't have gone through all—"

Warm fingers touched his lips, silencing him.

"Believe me when I say this, it was better this way," Natsu repeated, his lips stretching upwards.

He frowned and opened his mouth, swiping his tongue over the fingers. Natsu yelped and pulled his hand close to his chest.

"What the fuck, Gray?" Natsu snapped, glaring at him.

He laid down and turned his back to Natsu.

"You're an idiot…"

* * *

The next day, late in the morning, Natsu was knocking at his door.

"I thought we were supposed to have this week off," Gray said and covered his mouth with his hand as he yawned.

"We do have this week off," Natsu confirmed and passed him by, walking into his apartment.

He sighed and closed the door, "Then why are you here?"

"Cause I wanted to see you."

He inhaled sharply, turning to stare at Natsu. His chest tightened and averted his eyes, walking by him and heading towards his kitchen.

"W-What did you want to see me for?" he asked as he opened his fridge and grabbed a carton of sour cherry juice.

"I actually wanted to ask you something," Natsu stated and fidgeted on his feet.

"What is it?" he said and took a sip of his juice.

"Do you want to search for your dragon together?"

He choked on the juice and coughed violently, hitting himself lightly on the chest.

"W-Where did that come from?" he asked, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

Natsu rubbed the back of his head, "Well, I'm sure that you want to get some answers and reunite with your dragon again…at least that's how it was with me for Igneel," he confessed.

His mouth twitched, "Thanks for the offer, but I'll have to decline."

Natsu's head snapped back to him, "What? Why not?"

He twisted the lid on the carton of his juice and placed it back inside the fridge.

"It's not worth it, I have decided to give up on finding her." He mumbled.

A hand grabbed his shoulder and turned him around, Natsu pushing him against the door of the fridge.

"But you want to meet her again, right? Why would you say something like that?" Natsu asked, trying to meet his eyes.

He kept his head turned to the side and sighed, "What happened to you was my fault."

Natsu huffed, resting his hands on his hips, "This again? We already talked about—"

"It was because of me that we went to that dark guild, Porlyusica had nothing to do with it. She was just covering up for me as an excuse for us to go. I was actually going there because that guild had information for creatures like dragons. What happened to you, what you went through…was my fault," he confessed, a forced whisper.

He bit his lip as Natsu remained silent, knowing that he would hit him, or worse, get mad at him for lying again and will want nothing to do with him.

How could he have done this to Natsu? How could he have let this happen to him? Wasn't he…wasn't he supposed to be his mate? After what he did, he didn't deserve someone like Natsu, and it wasn't just from that fact, he knew it from the very start. Natsu deserved better, he deserved true happiness, and if remaining alone for the rest of his life meant exactly that, then he would gladly accept it.

A hand closed around his wrist and lifted it up, placing it against a warm chest.

He blinked and turned his head towards Natsu, looking at his palm that was flat against his chest.

"What are you doing…?"

"These scars that were inflicted upon me, do you know why I don't mind them? Why I'm so calm about the whole thing?" Natsu questioned, emerald eyes staring intently into his own eyes.

He gulped and shook his head.

"These were for your sake, I endured that for you, because of you. If it meant that I would keep you safe, then I would do it all over again," he declared and let go of his hand, stepping away, "I'm going to the guild, you should come when you feel like it."

Natsu turned around and walked towards the front door. When he heard the door close, he slid down on the floor and buried his face into his hands as heat rose up to his cheeks.

"Goddammit, Natsu…"

* * *

"So…what exactly is it that you want?" Gray asked as he crossed his arms over his chest, eyes falling every Dragonslayer.

"I'm gonna be blunt— we want the pills Porlyusica made for you," Gajeel stated, his words followed by nods from Natsu and Wendy.

He glanced at Laxus, who was leaning against the wall, face neutral.

"You too?" he asked.

Laxus sighed and silently nodded.

Almost two weeks had passed since he had revealed to the guild about his condition and since then, he had been spending more time with the other Dragonslayers. He guessed that they were just curious and wanted to help him out, make him understand it better.

But, he had been spending more time with Natsu too, just the two of them. Natsu was either coming by his house or the other way around, it had become an odd routine for them.

He knew that what he was doing was futile, getting his hopes up only for them to be crushed, yet he couldn't resist from having that slim hope that someday he might have a chance with Natsu.

Now, they were all seated behind the guild, in a circle and casually conversed.

"I could ask Porlyusica to make some more when any of us would be heading out for a mission." He offered.

"Thank you, Gray-san," Wendy said, her lips forming into a smile.

"Yeah, thanks, Gray! This is the best thing in the world!" Natsu said excitedly, pumping his fist in the air.

Laxus nodded thankfully at him and pushed off the wall, about to walk away.

"Wait, before you leave, I want to ask you all something that I have been wondering for a while…" he glanced towards Laxus retreating form who paused at his words.

"What is it?" Gajeel asked, leaning forward.

He glanced down at his hands in his lap, "In one of my memories, Algor was explaining to me what…mates are," he glanced up and saw everyone's eyes widening, "so, I was wondering if you had…a mate."

"Yes, we do," Wendy confirmed, pink dusting her cheeks.

"So, you've all found your mate? Who are they?" he questioned and saw everyone averting their eyes.

His chest tightened as he glanced at Natsu discreetly, noticing how he was blushing.

"My mate is Levy." Gajeel declared as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Mine is Sherria," Wendy said, grinning shyly.

He glanced at Laxus and lifted an eyebrow as he noticed that he was biting his lower lip.

"Freed is my mate…" he finally said.

"Well, I would have been surprised if he wasn't," he commented and pressed his mouth into a hard line as he looked at Natsu.

"Uh, well…" Natsu mumbled, turning his head away.

"You see, Salamander here hasn't told anyone who his mate is yet, but I have my suspicions on who it could be," Gajeel chuckled, grinning widely as he lightly elbowed Natsu.

He couldn't help but feel hope light up inside him again.

"Shut up, Gajeel! This is none of your business!" Natsu snapped, shoving him away.

"Your mate's scent stands out the most to you, right? That's how you notice it?" he asked, wanting to confirm his doubts.

"Yeah, that's how you know they're your mate," Wendy confirmed, gasping as realization dawned on her face, "Gray-san…do you know who your mate is?"

He nodded and flinched as Natsu appeared right in front of him, emerald eyes glaring at him.

"Who is it." he commanded.

Gray leaned backward, placing his hands on the ground to support his weight.

"Like hell I'm telling you, flame-brain, piss off!" he barked.

He gasped as Natsu growled, bearing his teeth at him.

 _What the fuck?_

"Tell me!" he demanded again.

"No! Fuck off, Natsu." He spat, pushing Natsu away.

"Gray, you—"

Natsu grabbed him by the collar and Gray was about to punch him, but suddenly, his chest tightened in pain, his air pipe closing up. His breath started coming out in short pants, struggling to breathe properly. He patted Natsu on his shoulder, who immediately released him and leaned forward, violently coughing.

"What's going on? I-I didn't grip him that tightly! It wasn't my fault!" Natsu stammered, hands hanging in the air uselessly, not knowing what to do.

Wendy kneeled down next to him and placed her hands over his chest, green healing magic seeping through her to him.

The pain gradually disappeared and could breathe normally again. Sweat rolled down his forehead, breathing heavily.

"W-What the fuck was that…? Has something like that happened to you before?" he croaked.

"No, that's not something that happens to Dragonslayers, and from the looks of it, it wasn't a usual panic attack either, so, I'm not sure as to what happened," Wendy stated, furrowing her eyebrows as she studied him.

"Maybe it was because he had entered Dragon Force?" Gajeel wondered as he looked at him in concern.

"More than three weeks have passed since then, it doesn't seem logical to me that it will still affect him," Wendy argued and looked at him apologetically, "I'm sorry, Gray-san, but I can't help you more than this."

He patted her head, smiling, "It's okay, you have already done more than enough."

He placed his hand over his chest, jaw tightening.

 _What the fuck was that just now?_

* * *

He lifted his hand and rubbed his chest, grimacing as a dull pain appeared again.

A few days had passed since the first 'attack' that he had and lately it has been getting worse. He would wake up in the middle of the night, feeling like he was suffocating. It would happen randomly in the middle of the day, unbearable pain exploding deep inside his chest.

Nobody knew what was wrong with him, why he kept having these attacks. He had even approached Porlyusica on the matter, but no matter how many tests she ran, she could never find anything wrong with his health that could cause this.

"Is it happening again, Gray?"

He glanced up from his seat at Lucy, who was staring down at him with worry.

"Don't worry, I can barely feel it," he reassured, yet she didn't look convinced.

"Everyone has been getting really worried about you, sometimes your 'attacks' are so severe, it looks like…like you're dying…" she whispered, head lowered.

"It's nothing, really, just plain chest pains— maybe all these new memories and powers of being a Dragonslayer are overwhelming me and my body's reacting this way." He speculated, shrugging.

"Maybe we should seek out a specialist?" she offered, fingers tapping her chin.

He snorted, "Do you know a better specialist than Porlyusica?"

"Not really, no…" she sighed heavily and slumped in her seat next to him.

"I just hate watching you suffer like that and not being able to do anything about it," she mumbled.

"You don't have to worry so much, I'm sure it will go away soon—" he choked out a pained whimper as immense pain spread through his chest.

He heaved violently, scratching his neck as he struggled to breathe. He could feel hands all over him, voices screaming, but the only thing he could feel was the pain pushing in his chest. He drily swallowed, felt like he was going to throw up and fell off from his seat, pushing away from everyone and sprinted towards the doors of the guild. He slammed himself against them and rolled on the ground outside the guild.

He shakily sat in a kneeling position and tightly clutched his chest, pain eating him whole. Then, he felt a sharp pain inside his head and screamed as a bright light engulfed his whole body.

He felt like his body was being split in two, like something was forcing its way out of his body. He collapsed against the ground again, panting heavily.

"Everyone, get into position to attack!"

He heard Makarov's scream from behind him, his head throbbing in pain.

"Attack…? What are they talking about…" he croaked, placing his hands against the ground, trying to lift himself up.

Then, an ear-piercing roar was heard, and he snapped his head up, eyes widening as he gaped at the blue dragon that was flying above him, strong wings spread wide.

"Ah, it does feel liberating to be finally free." The dragon's deep voice boomed, her wings sending strong gushes of wing.

"Algor?!" he shouted and struggled to stand up.

The dragon turned her head down and grinned widely when she caught sight of Gray. Algor lowered herself to the ground, her landing causing tremors.

"We finally meet again face to face, Gray," Algor said and lowered her head in front of him, her scaly, blue eyes staring intently at him.

He gulped, heart beating loud against his ribcage, "You're…you're really her? Algor?" he questioned again, voice shaky with emotion and slightly raised his hand.

"Yeah, Gray, it's really me," she agreed and pushed her nose against him gently, rubbing against his face.

He reached out and placed his hand on top of her scaly skin. He inhaled sharply and rested his head against her nose.

"Honestly, I'm extremely mad right now…I can't even believe that you're standing right in front of me, but I'm glad that I finally get to meet you…after I got my memories back, all this seemed so surreal to me," he confessed and froze a part of her nose, "took you long enough, old hag, you have a lot of explaining to do."

"Old hag?!" Algor shrieked, glaring down at him.

"What, you expect me to welcome you with open arms after doing that to me? Making me live a complete lie?" he scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I guess not…but please, let me have this moment of reunion," she requested.

"You were always such a hopeless romantic, weren't you?"

She smiled down at him, "Seems like you know me well, don't you?"

He shrugged and craned his neck again, staring up at her.

"I still can't believe it, though."

"You better do, you brat."

He chuckled and clenched his fist, lifting it up, "You better what you say around me now, I'm nothing like I used to be, you know."

"I know."

"Gray, is this…is this the dragon you were talking about?" Makarov hesitantly stepped forward, gesturing towards Algor in front of him.

He nodded, "Yeah, but you can relax, she's not hostile."

"She's so cool, Gray!" Natsu squealed as he stepped beside him and gawked at the dragon in front of them.

"Eh, she's not _that_ cool," he grumbled and rubbed the back of his head.

Suddenly, Algor narrowed her eyes as she studied Natsu.

"And who may this young gentleman be…?" She asked.

Natsu puffed out his chest, "My name is Natsu— ah, you might have known my father though, Igneel!"

"Yeah, I knew him…as well as the rest of the dragons," she growled low in her chest.

"You don't seem too happy about it," he observed, studying her every reaction.

She turned her head towards the rest of his guildmates, gaze falling over the rest of the Dragonslayers.

"Whose children are these Dragonslayers," she commanded, voice low.

"Grandeeney and Metalicana," Natsu informed her and stared up at her in question, "why are you asking?"

Suddenly, Algor grinned viciously and raised her head high in the air, staring down at them.

"Well, I need to at least know whose children I'm going to kill. Make sure you send them my regards when you do see them again." She wickedly chuckled.

"Everyone, you know what to do!" Makarov yelled and everyone deployed, surrounding Algor, ready to attack.

"What…what are you talking about, Algor?" he asked and took a step forward, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him and pulled him back.

"Gray, get away from her," Natsu commanded, pulling him away.

"No, wait, I need to—"

"Get your filthy hands off my Gray, you pathetic human!" Algor roared and released massive mollified ice towards them.

His eyes widened and brought his hands together, ready to channel it out, but a huge claw snatched him away from the ground.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing, Algor?!" he snarled, struggling to get free, yet her grip on him only tightened further.

"I'm doing what I should have done all those decades ago!" she spat and flew up in the air, glaring down at the rest of his guildmates.

"When I used to coexist together with the other dragons, all of them degraded me and humiliated me, treated me like I was trash, like I was nothing! They underestimated me, fooled around with me, called me weak! I despised them for all the things they did to me and swore that I would take my revenge upon them and that was when I met you, what I did was the only way to exterminate them and for me to survive." She explained, venom in her voice.

He narrowed his eyes and glared up at her, "So I was only a way of transportation? Your plan to achieve your revenge?" he barked, gritting his teeth.

"Oh, no, no, no, my dear Gray, I loved you with all my being and I still do. My plan can't be executed without your help— I want you to join me, like old times, just the two of us, and together we'll take over this puny little world! We'll show them just how strong Ice Dragons really are!" she howled.

He stared in horror at her, "You're insane…"

"Am I? I have seen how Igneel's child has always underestimated you, always put you down, insulted you and degraded you, they're the same!"

He shook his head, "You're wrong."

"How am I wrong? Just look at them, all positioned to attack, not caring in the slightest about you— the only one that truly ever cared was me!" she said, voice booming.

"No matter what you say, it won't convince me to join you. You have threatened the lives of my family and that's unforgivable." He stated and glanced down at the mass of people.

He spotted a bundle of pink hair and closed his eyes, "I'm sorry, Natsu." He whispered, sure that the pink-haired mage could pick up on it.

Then, he snapped his eyes back on Algor and let out a scream as magic exploded all around him, making Algor loosen her grip on him. He started falling through the air, wind gushing against his face.

He placed his hands together and thrust them down, creating a huge platform of ice that started from on top of the buildings and reached high into the air, managing to stop his fall. He stood tall and peered at Algor through narrowed eyes.

"The only one who's dying today is you." He threatened, raising his clenched fists.

"I didn't really want it to come to this, why can't you see the truth, Gray?!" she flew towards him, her sharp canines bared.

"There's no truth, you're just insane! Blinded by revenge!"

He snapped his head to the side, eyes widening as Natsu flew past him, colliding with Algor, flames covering her entire body, sending her backward.

"Natsu!"

Then, another three blurs passed right by him, watching as Algor was hit with wind, lighting and iron roars, every Dragonslayer being supported by their exceeds.

"Guys! What are you—"

"Did you really think we'd let you take this hag alone?" Gajeel smirked, smacking his right fist against his left palm.

"She threatened and badmouthed our precious family, our parents who gave their life away for our sake, there's no way that we'll sit around and do nothing!" Wendy said, face determined.

"Honestly, I want to kick your ass for doing that, but we'll first have to beat her and then I'll deal with you," Natsu spoke up, peering down at him through narrowed eyes.

He smirked, "You wish, flame-brain, there's no way that you can overpower me now."

Emerald eyes blazed as they stared right through his soul, making him shiver.

"We'll see about that."

"Watch out!"

He snapped his head forward as he heard Laxus shout and shot away as Algor came flying back at them, crashing the platform of ice he had created with her teeth.

"Requip, Flame Empress Armor!"

"Sagittarius form!"

Then, flames mixed with arrows passed him by and hit Algor straight in the chest, sending her toppling onto the buildings below.

Water wrapped around him and stopped him from falling, lowering him down safely on the ground.

"Juvia will also assist her friends!"

He glanced up at Juvia, who was standing in front of him in a battle stance.

"Stand up, Gray, we have a battle to win," Makarov stated loudly.

He pressed his mouth into a tight line and placed his hands together, "Yes, Gramps."

"Natsu!"

He snapped his head up, eyes widening in horror as he saw a huge block of ice smacking into him, sending him crashing onto the buildings below.

He gritted his teeth, "Fuck, fuck, fuck, I need to—"

"Gray."

He turned his head to his right, noticing that the one who spoke was Mirajane, now in her Satan Soul, Seilah form.

"You know what to do. Put an end to this, we will lend you our power."

He nodded and closed his eyes, letting power overwhelm him. The only thing that he had in his mind was his family, the need to protect them, the need to save them.

The need to protect his mate.

Blue icy scaled covered his body, magic radiating all around him. He snapped his eyes open and kicked off the ground, ice boosting him up as he flew upwards and created a large, sharpened blast of ice and threw it towards her, managing to cut through Algor's crystal skin.

He heard a pained howl and smirked as he saw blood seep out of one Algor's wings, useless.

He landed on top of a building and sucked in a huge breath.

"Ice Dragon's Roar!"

He blew out a huge amount of mollified ice, crashing into Algor.

"Go, Gray, give her the finishing blow!"

He heard Erza's voice and smirked.

"You don't have to tell me twice."

He noticed everyone preparing their attacks, gathering magic energy. He closed his eyes and placed his right fist on top of his left palm. He exhaled deeply and snapped his eyes open again, watching as everyone's attack purred down on Algor, hitting at her through all angles.

He kicked off his feet and flew above Algor, a large blue circle appearing in front of him.

"Ice Dragon's Spear!"

A massive iced spear formed and rammed it down, stabbing it through Algor. She let out a howl and crashed down onto the buildings below, destroying them. He followed Algor and let out a pained scream as he fell down onto the rumbles of a building.

He coughed violently, pain exploding down low and glanced down, clicking his tongue as he stared at the huge wound he had on his stomach, blood pouring out.

"G-Gray…"

He snapped his head up and looked at Algor's fading eyes, chest tightening.

He coughed, "W-Why? Why did you…do that? We could have…we could have lived together—"

"There was…n-no way that I could…coexist with those t-traitors…" Algor breathed.

He sighed, "Goodbye, A-Algor."

"G-Gray…always…l-loved you…"

He gritted his teeth as he watched Algor take her last breath, eyes dulling, becoming lifeless. He leaned back and turned his head towards the sky above, biting his lower lip as he felt tears prickling his eyes.

"Gray!"

He turned his head towards Natsu's voice and before he had time to respond, arms were wrapped around him, embracing him.

"Y-You're alive…oh god, you s-scared me so much, Idiot," Natsu whispered against his ear.

He could feel energy and strength leaving his body, moves sluggish, weak. He lifted his shaky hand and touched Natsu's cheek.

"N-Natsu…"

"Shut up, Gray, don't waste energy, you're heavily injured, we need to take you to Wendy," Natsu said and pressed his hand against his wound, trying to stop the bleeding.

He let out a pained whimper and weakly shook his head.

"What are you shaking your head for? Just shut up and stay—"

He leaned forward and gently pressed his lips against Natsu's. Then, his hand slipped down from Natsu's cheek and eyes slowly closed, fading away into the darkness.


	5. Chapter 5

Gray groggily woke up, blinking rapidly, trying to focus his blurry vision. He lifted his hand and rubbed his eyes, trying to move. He groaned, muscles screaming in protest as he pushed himself into a sitting position. He glanced around and noticed that he was in the guild's infirmary once again. He inhaled sharply when his eyes fell upon Natsu, who had his back turned to him, staring outside the window to his right.

"N-Natsu I—"

"If you weren't bedridden right now, I would have kicked your ass."

He flinched at the roughness of his voice and lowered his head, looking at his hands on his lap.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

"Do you really think that will be enough?" Natsu asked, head slightly tilted.

He drily swallowed, shaking his head, "No."

"Good, make sure that never happens again…" Natsu turned around and he gasped as he saw silent tears rolling down Natsu's cheeks, "y-you idiot."

"Come 'ere," he said and beckoned with his hand towards himself.

Natsu walked up to him and sat down on the bed. He caressed Natsu's left cheek, thumb brushing away his tears. Natsu let out a shaky breath and leaned into the touch.

"I'm sorry," he apologized again, chest tightening as he studied Natsu's face.

His eyes were bloodshot, dark circles formed under them and cheeks red, stained with tears.

"Next time you decide that you want to kiss me, d-do it properly, ice-princess," Natsu whispered, voice cracking.

"Okay," he replied and placed his other hand over Natsu's right cheek.

He leaned forward and softly pecked Natsu on the lips.

"You're such an idiot for doing that to me," Natsu breathed against him.

"I know," he whispered, nodding.

Natsu placed his hands behind Gray's head, fingers threading through his dark hair and pulled him forward, connecting their lips. They kissed gently, softly, moving their lips slowly against each other.

Natsu slightly pulled back, breaking their kiss and moved downwards, placing soft kisses to his jaw, down to his neck. He moved his hands away from Gray's hair and grabbed the shirt's collar, stretching it towards the left, exposing Gray's collarbone.

He gasped as teeth gently grazed his collarbone.

"May I…?" Natsu questioned.

"Yes. God yes," he pleaded, nails digging into Natsu's back over his shirt.

Natsu placed a kiss on the skin as if apologizing before biting down roughly on it, breaking through the skin. He let out a low whimper, mouth dropping open as he panted.

They both knew what this meant for them. It was more than a simple bite, than a simple reunion, a simple declaration of love. It was all that and so much more.

They were connecting, bonding.

They were mates.

Natsu lapped his tongue over the sore spot, licking away the blood that seeped out.

Gray tugged at Natsu's shirt, "M-Me too, I need to…"

Natsu placed one last kiss on the marked skin and moved upwards, craning his neck.

"Make me yours, Gray."

He groaned and buried his face against Natsu's neck, taking in his mate's scent of cinnamon and vanilla. He dragged his tongue over his neck and sank his teeth down, biting into the soft skin.

Natsu moaned, fingers threading through Gray's hair, gripping it tightly. He made a low rumbling sound in his chest, body tingling all over. He slightly pulled back and licked over the bite mark. Then, Natsu moved his hand from Gray's hair and placed his fingers under his chin, tilting it up.

"Looks like you're stuck with me for the rest of your life," Natsu whispered, eyes full of affection as he stared at him.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Gray replied, his lips twitching into a grin.

* * *

"Gray, are you alright? You've been in there for over than an hour." Came Natsu's muffled voice outside the bathroom door, lightly knocking.

He sniffed and turned the water on the shower warmer, the water rinsing off his tears.

"I'm fine," he croaked out and softly cursed as his voice cracked.

Almost a month had passed since they had killed Algor, and Gray had been falling deeper every day. No matter what he did, he couldn't get her guilt-stricken expression as she took her last breath out of his head. He knew that she wanted to kill his family, his mate, yet he couldn't help but feel guilty for what he did.

Even though her ideology was sick and twisted, she still had only wanted to spend time with him, to be with him again after all this time, like a mother with his son and what had he done? Killed her in cold blood, not even trying to save her, to convince her otherwise. He didn't even give her a second chance to atone and change for the better.

And besides that, there had been casualties, people killed, lost forever as they had fought against her. In all those buildings that they had destroyed were other people inside, yet he fought without giving it a second thought, without taking into consideration that he could have hurt someone else, someone who wasn't a mage, someone who was defenseless.

All those people were taken away from their families; daughters, sons, fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, and what was he doing? Busking in the light of another day? Continuing on with his life like everything was perfect?

He didn't deserve such happiness, never did. It was never fated for him to achieve it, he always believed that, yet he was proved wrong as he brushed his fingers over the bite mark on his neck.

He bit down on his lower lip hard, drawing out blood. He leaned against the bathroom tiles, resting his forehead against it and let out a choked sob.

He didn't deserve this, didn't deserve happiness, didn't deserve Natsu…

"Gray? What's going on in there? I can smell blood— please, open up." Natsu pleaded, knocking frantically.

"I'm fine, stop being so annoying," he said through gritted teeth, turning the water warmer than before, hissing as it burned him.

Then, he flinched as the door was crashed open and whirled around, hands flying over his body, trying to cover himself, but his wrists were caught and pulled away from his body.

"What are you doing to yourself?" Natsu demanded as he had stepped into the shower with him, his clothes getting soaked, concerned eyes studying him up and down for any injury.

"Nothing, I just accidentally bit my lip too hard and cut it open." He said and averted his eyes.

"And why is the water so hot? You usually shower in bone-chilling temperature," Natsu said and let go of his wrist, reaching towards the handle.

"No!" he slapped Natsu's hand away.

"Gray, you…"

His eyes widened when he realized what he had done and pulled his other hand away from Natsu's grip, turning his back on him.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what got over me, but this is something that I need right now." He stated, placing his palm flat against the bathroom tiles, a dull pain spreading on his back as hot water kept pouring on him.

"Why would you need something like this? Why would you want to hurt yourself?" Natsu asked, insisting as he grabbed his shoulder, trying to turn him around, "Gray, look at me and answer."

He clicked his tongue and whirled around, grabbing Natsu by the collar.

"I'm doing this because I needed to stop thinking about how it was all my fucking fault, how I killed Algor without giving her a second chance— who knows, if I had talked to her more, she could have changed her mind, yet I just attacked her and killed her in cold-blood, my own mother!

"But it wasn't only that, of course it fucking wasn't, as many people got killed in the process too. I was reckless, being selfish and only thinking about doing what I wanted. What am I going to say to those who lost their family? Their loved ones? They're out there, suffering because of my reckless actions and what am I doing? Enjoying my life, living life to the _fullest_." He spat, voice shaky with emotion.

He loosened his grip on Natsu's collar and lowered his head, "It's better if you leave me alone."

He gasped as warm lips covered his own and glanced up, emerald eyes staring intently at him.

Natsu slightly pulled back, breaking the kiss, "You want a distraction, right?"

He cocked his head, looking at him curiously. Natsu leaned in and placed his lips against his ear.

"Turn around and put your hands flat on the wall." He commanded.

Shivers ran down his spine as Natsu's breath ghosted over his ear and slowly turned around, placing his palms flat on the bathroom tiles. He heard some shuffling noises behind him, the rustling of clothes and then a cap of a bottle being opened. He was about to turn his head, yet a hand prevented him from seeing, as it covered his eyes.

"Did I say that you could look?" Natsu breathed against the back of his neck, lips traveling down his spine.

Suddenly, a lubed finger prodded at his hole, circling around it. Then, it pushed past the tight ring of muscle, slowly sinking in all the way to the third knuckle. He gasped, squirming under the slight strain.

"You good?" Natsu asked as he sucked down at the skin on his back, nibbling at it between his teeth.

He nodded, panting harshly as another finger was added, burying deep. Then, Natsu started slowly thrusting his two fingers into him, scissoring him open. He moaned low in his throat as a third finger prodded at his hole and slowly pushed in. He clenched his hands into fists and moved his hips backward, meeting Natsu's thrusts of his fingers. His cock twitched, fully erect as Natsu's fingers brushed over his prostate.

"P-Please, Natsu, I want you to fuck me," he breathed against the wall, "please, fuck me."

"Whatever you want," Natsu said and pulled out his fingers.

Then, he grabbed his lubed cock and lined it up against Gray's tight ring of muscle.

"I'm going in," Natsu informed and pushed in, the head of his cock passing through.

He groaned, slight pain shooting up his spine and pushed his hips back impatiently.

"Hurry up."

Natsu slowly pushed his cock all the way in, burying himself to the root. Gray moaned at the stretch, the fullness of it. Natsu moved his left hand from Gray's eyes and wrapped it over his front, pulling Gray back against his chest. He placed his right hand on Gray's hip, pulled back and slammed back in.

He choked out a moan, eyes flying open as Natsu started thrusting into him agonizingly slow. Then, Natsu angled his hips better and as he thrust back in again, he pressed against Gray's prostate.

His mouth dropped open, a low whine escaping his lips.

"F-Fuck, Natsu…" he moaned, and thrust his hips back, "go faster, harder."

"No." Natsu responded, nails digging into his hip as he stopped every attempted move.

"Dammit…g-god fucking dammit," he choked out, lower lip quivering.

"It's okay, Gray, let it out. Let it all out," Natsu whispered against his ear, gently nibbling on his earlobe.

He felt tears prickling his eyes and bit his lower lip, trying to stop them from falling.

"Shh, it's okay now, I'm here for you, you can let go, Gray."

He choked on a sob and finally the tears burst out, rolling down his cheeks like an endless stream, mixing with the warm water that was cascading over them. He sobbed as Natsu kept fucking into him slowly, pressing against his prostate every time, sending chills of pleasure up his spine.

Pleasure pooled in his abdomen and as Natsu sank his teeth down on his neck whilst thrusting in. He cried out and came untouched, body shaking through the orgasm.

He panted harshly against the wall and reached behind him, placing his hand over the one that was gripping his hip.

"C-Come inside," he croaked out.

After a few, sloppy thrusts, Natsu stilled inside him as he came, softly cursing.

"F-Fuck…" Natsu panted and rested his forehead on Gray's shoulder.

They both tried to catch their breaths, the warm water already starting to clean them up. Natsu slowly pulled out of him and he almost whimpered at the emptiness. Natsu grabbed the shampoo and poured some on his body, starting to clean him up. After he was done, he washed away the soap and reached for the tap, water stopping as he pushed it down.

Natsu stepped towards the cabinet and opened it, grabbing a towel from inside. Once he had wiped and dried Gray up, he also dried himself. Then, he picked Gray in his arms and walked out of the bathroom, heading towards his bedroom. Natsu pushed the door open with his foot and set him down in the middle of the bed.

Natsu leaned down and pressed a kiss on his forehead, "Rest, you need it."

As Natsu was about to pull away, Gray reached out and grabbed his wrist, holding him tightly. Natsu glanced back down at him in shock as Gray tugged at his wrist.

"Lay down with me." He mumbled,

Natsu huffed, lips stretching into a smile, "How could I possibly say no?"

He got into bed with Gray and reached down, pulling the blanket over both of them. Gray moved closer to him, burying his face against his chest and Natsu draped his arms over his back, pulling him close.

"Sweet dreams, ice-princess…"

Gray let out a content sigh and closed his eyes, Natsu's warmness and scent lulling him into a blissful sleep.

Things might not be perfect, but he has his mate by his side and that's all he ever needed.

 **And this is it for this story, thank you for everyone that gave it a try! :)**


End file.
